19.1.12

little darling argus

Howdy friends. I hope you're well. I've been awfully busy these days, as it's my first week of spring classes. Exciting but tiring!

For Christmas, I bought myself a cute '40s Argus C3. I used to be very interested in film photography in highschool, but then one day my creaky thrifted '70s camera broke and I couldn't afford a new one, and that kind of fizzled out. It's really nice to work with film again! This is the first roll I've shot in the Argus, and I'm thrilled that they turned out so well... I was kind of expecting them to turn out all blurry and full of light leaks, since it's such an old camera and I did get it on eBay, ha. There were some peculiar double exposures, but I find them charming.

These were all taken out on the roads around where I live. The barn is by the previously abandoned house I used to explore as a kid, but someone is fixing it up now... good for the house, but I'll miss riding my horse around it and peering in the dusty windows. Well, at least I got to smuggle out the front of a beautiful upright piano top from the dumpster; it's Victorian and hand carved with flowers.

These are beautiful Dakota. The double exposures are eerily beautiful, in the best kind of way. The area where you live looks like the place my dreams are made of. I hope we can see your piano find one day.

These photos are wonderful! i love the one you took of yourself in the mirror. Something about the old style of photography is so rich and magical. Our perfect digital images fall flat against their flair and beautiful imperfections. What a pretty world you've captured!

These are wonderful!! I would love to take up using film again. My husband has an argus he calls "the brick" (I guess that was a nickname for it?) but your camera is SO cute, and the photos are glorious.

Wow! I love the first one and the second one especially. Does that camera take 35mm? And are those the actual colours or did you tweek them in photoshop at all...? I've been meaning to pick up film again for years but just haven't. Perhaps this year :)

I think double exposure is awesome. I found a stack of pictures with double exposure when I was a kid and I had no idea what it was. I thought they were ghosts since I watched a lot of Unsolved Mysteries when I was a kid lol.

Thanks y'all!! I'm really glad you enjoyed seeing them, and I'll be sure to have a lot more in the future as me and "the brick" here get to know one another!

Polly, it's actually the same landscape in that double-exposure, but one is vertical and one horizontal. I like that one too!

Rueby, it is indeed 35 mm, and no, I don't even have Photoshop... it's just the good ol' Argus at work. Though I turned that double-exposure picture into black-and-white in iPhoto, as it was too confusing with color, haha.

These are absolutely beautiful! The double exposure of you in the field (ish thing?) is lovely. I've seen so many amazing film photos around blogs recently, reminding me of how I need to stop relying on my DSLR and keep using my 15 or 20 misc film cameras.

Oh, I love these! The light leaks and the double exposures make them so unique and a little bit creepy (in the best way!). You picked the perfect day to shoot too, the light with the grey clouds...just perfect. Gosh, now I want an Argus of my own!

Thank you all so very much for the kind words!! It's funny how bleak and boring the hills of Vermont usually seem to me, but through photographing them I can really see just how strikingly beautiful it is too.

To anyone considering getting an Argus, it's so easy to use and you'll feel really sophisticated and time warp-y using it. Go for it!!

Oooh I'm so glad you scored the beautiful piano, plus that someone cares enough to restore that beautiful old place. I completely ADORE the pics from your new camera - they could have been taken at any time in the past 70 years - you look so amazing with the fur collar and like a little ghosty!! xo

N.B.

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